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SPEECHES 



Oli^ 



AT THE OOKVENTIOKS 



Held at Albany January 31, 1861, and Septembsr 10, 1862. 



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1^440 



SPEECHES 



lYMOUR 



tlie Conventions lield at Albany January 
31, 1861, and September 10, 1862. 



m. SBIMOCII'S SFEEfill, 

At the Conveiitjoa iieJd at Albany, 



Hon Horatio Setmodr appeared npon the 
stand, and was received with loud and long 
continued applause. He said : 

It. has been truly said by the President of 
this Convention that we do not meet for parti- 
san purposes, althoajrh wo are asgevnbled in 
pursuance of a call issued by a political organi- 
zation. There was no other mode by which 
■wo could act as a representative body. The 
people of the State are divided ioto two great 
parties, one of which gave at the late Presiden- 
tial contest more th»n three hundred and fifty 
thousand, and the other more than three hun- 
dred and ten thousand votes for their respec- 
tive candidates. "We have waited with p.itieut 
expectation for some elibrt on the part of the 
responsible majority to avert the calamities 
which overhang our country We have h*i!ed 
with joy every indication of a desire on their 
part to meet the duties of their position. We 
have given a cordial approval to every patriotic 
expression coming from individuals of that par- 
ty, whether uttered through hi-s Journal by the 
able R"publican leader of the State, by the 
distinguished Senator at 'vVcshington, or by a 
T-atrioiic and intelligent Memter of our Legis- 
lature. The hope.s excited by those expres- 
sions have died away. Our country is on the 
verga of ruin, and now, in behalf of the great 
organizit'on we represent and of those who, 
since the late election, have joined our ranks, 
we meet to confront the dangers which menace 
lis. I believe jn our resolutions we shall utter 



the sentiments of a vast majority of the people 
of New York We shall rise above political 
purposes. We shall indulge in no reproaches — 
patriotic purposes in the past must be shown 
by patriotic action now. The acts of this day 
will throw light upon our motives in what we 
have done, and will influence oar conduct in 
the future. 

As I have been placed npon the committee 
which is to frame resolutions for your conside- 
ration, I wish to state my views of the policy 
which should guide us and the sentiments we 
should put forth to the world. 

Three score and ten years, the period alloted 
for the lifo of man, have rolled away since 
George Wasbiugion was inaugurated first Presi- 
dent of tlie United States, in the city of New 
York Vt^e were then among the feeblest peo- 
ple r;f the earth. The flag of Great Britain still 
waved over Oswego with insulting defiance of 
our national rights, and the treaty recognizing 
our independence. The powers of the world re- 
garded us with iaditierence or treated us with 
contemptuous injustice. So swift has been our 
progress under the influence of our Union that 
but yesterday we could defy the world in arms, 
and none dared to insult our flag. When our 
Constitution was inaugurated tbo utmost en- 
thnsissm pervaded our land. Stern warriors 
who had fought the battles of the Revolution 
wept for joy. Glad processions of men and 
women marched with triumphal pride along 
the streets of our cities — holy men of God 
prayed in his Temples that the spirit of fra- 
ternal love, which had shaped the compromises 
of th*? Constitution, might never fade away, 
and that sectional bigotry, hate and discord 
might never curse our land. Amid this wild 
enthu-xiasm there was no imagination so excited . 
nor piety with faith bo strong that it foresav 



the full influeace of the event then celebrated. 
Some yet live to see onr numbers increased 
li'om four to thirty millions, our territories 
quadrupled and extended from the Atlantic to 
the PaciUc. oar power and progress t^e wonder 
of the world. Alas, sir, they also live to see 
the patriotism and fraternal love, which have 
wrought out these marvelloas results, die out, 
and the mightj fabric o! our goveramenr, about 
to crumble and fali, becaaie the virtues which 
reared and upheld it have departed from our 
councils. 

What spectEcle do we present to-day ? Al- 
ready six States have withdrawn from this 
Confederacy. Revolution has actually begun. 
The term "secession" divests it of none of its 
terrors, nor do arguments to prove secession 
inconsistent with our Constitution stay its pro- 
gress, or mitigate its evils. All virtue, patriot- 
ism and intelligence seem to have fied from our 
national Capitol; it has been well likened to the 
conflagration of an asylum for madmen — some 
look on with idiotic imbecility, some in sullen 
silence, and some scatter the tireba&nds which 
consume the fabric above them, »n(^r)ng upon 
all a common dostrncaon. Is there one revolt- 
ing aspect in this scene whi. '^as not its para.1- 
lel at the GapiCol of your 'j.juiitry? Do you 
not see tLere the senseless ifxioeciiity, the gar- 
rulous idiocy, the maddened rage displayed 
with regard to potty personal passions and 
party purposes, while the glory, the honor and 
the safety of the rountry are all forgotten. The 
same pervading fanaticism has brought evil 
upon all the institutions of our land. Our 
churches are to;n asunder and desecrated to 
partisan purpo-ses. The wrongs of our local 
legislation, the giowing burdens of debt and 
taxation, the gradual destruction of the Afri- 
can in the free States, which is marked by 
each recurring census, are all due to the ne- 
glect of our own duties, caused by the com- 
plete absorption of the public mind by a sense- 
less, unreasoning fanaticism. The agitation of 
the question of slavery has thus far brought 
greater social, moral and legislative evils upon 
the people of the free States than it ha>i upon 
the institutions of those against whom it has 
been excited. The wisdom of Franklin stamped 
upon the 8r?t coin issued by our government, 
the wise uiotto, "' mind your business .'" The 
violatio"2 Oi the iiomely proverb which lies at 
the fo'iT'-i rtion of the doctrines of local rights 
has, thuc iar, proved more hurtful to th© med- 
dlers i;; iri^ o'jvi'ivh of others thai' to those 
againsi; \<S::nif mis pragmatic ac'..- -i.-. directed. 

The yirliouiii subject of ccntrove.-.-y at this 
momeot is ;a« 1^-nitorial qaostion, Wi.en our 
Constitvitivj vv^.s formed, oar government em- 
braced aa orfaa of 820 ,G8-" square miles. Since 
that tMJiia )i (j.t£ Oetn expanded by different ac- 
quisitioas to ri;;.' vast extent of 2,936,105 square 
miles. Tiiih ebpausioi .ccr. act contemplated 
by the ir&..iui!i of onr CJo^.vjsudou, and Mr. 
Jeflfersou ieclaiiids at ihoiiiuv. ol the Louisiana 
purct-jkse, that tt should be liiude the subject 
of a Oowijtitutional amendriient. This wise 
suggeai/loD rtaa unheeded, and we have at- 
tempted, to -/".rvjiru oui- dl[tert;ac acquisitions by 



principles inferred, from a constitution which 
did not contemplate such exigencies. It is not 
surprising, therefore, that the opinions of men 
and the policy of government have been uneet- 
ili'd and conflicting. 

Thus far, the North has had greatly the ad- 
vantage in the division of these acquisitions, 
and the political power which emanates from 
the creation of States, made from their limits 
Five free and five slave States have been erec- 'ij 
ted from territories gained since the adoption 
of our Constitution. The free States have the 
whole of the Pacific coai?t and the largest of 
value and extent in the remaining territories, 
lie north of a line which bounds the region 
where slavery can be employed, and lie, too, 
upon the pathway of European and Northern 
immigration. O.ir acquisitions since 1773, have 
extended the Southern States and Territories 
to 882.245 square miles, while the North has 
expanded to 1,204, 20i square miles. Assum- 
ing; that the Northwestern territory belonged 
to Virginia, and deducting that from the area 
of the South, it will be found that the South 
has increased less than fifty per cent, and the 
north nearly 1100 per cent, in extent, since the 
Revolution. The South has relinquished to the 
North 251,671 square miles, constituting the 
present States of Ohio. Indiana, Illinois, Michi- 
gan, and Wisconsin. The North has never re- 
linquished one foot of the original territory, 
and in the divisions of that which has been ac- 
quired, it has succeeded in gaining the largest 
proportion. 

This controversy does not grow out of a claim 
by either party that the Constitution shall be 
changed, but with regard to the construction 
that should be given to that instrument. The 
South claim that they have a right to take their 
sla-ves into all the territories, by virtue of the 
Constitutional compact, as construed by the 
Supreme Court, and because slavery originally 
existed in them, with the exception of those 
gained from Mexico. They deny that slavery 
vvas abolished when they were added to onr 
Union, and they deny the power of Congress to 
legislate against those rights of property which 
were recognized in our whole country at the 
time of the Revolution, and which were upheld 
by the laws of every State, save one, when the 
Constitution was formed. 

The South does not ask to extend slavery. 
They say it exists in the Territories. The Repub- 
licans assert that slavery shall not be extended. 
They contend that it does not exist in the Ter- 
ritories, but not content with leaving this ques- 
tion to the decision of the appointed tribunals, 
they demand legislation in the form of provisos 
or declarations in the nature of that contained 
in the ordinance regarding the northwest, 
which assume the existence of slavery in 
the disputed regions, in the absence of positive 
prohibitions. They show a distrust in their 
own constitutional constructions and historical 
statements, by demanding Congressional inter- 
ferences and restraints and under the cry of 
"No Extension!"' they are in fact agitating for 
repeal and restrictions which are of no signifi- 
cance unless slavery has the legal existence 



which they deny. 

Our fathers disposed of the same or similar 
difficulties, by compromises. Adjustments have 
been made from time to time in the progress of 
of oar government. The condition of our af- 
fairs forces upon us the alternative of compro- 
mise or civil war. Let us contemplate the lat- 
ter alternative. We are advised by the conser- 
vative States of Virginia and Kentucky that if 
force is to be used it must be exerted against 
the united South. It would be an act of folly 
and madness, in entering upon this contest, to 
underrate our opponents, and thus subject our- 
selves to the di.sgrace of defeat in an inglorious 
warfare. Let us also see if successful coercion 
by the North is less revolutionary than success- 
ful secession by the South. Shall we prevent 
revolution by being foremost in overthrowing 
the principles of our government, and all that 
makes it valuable to our people, and distin- 
guishes it among the nations of the earth? — 
Upon whom are we to wage war? Our own 
countrymen, whose white population is three- 
fold that of the whole country in the tirop <^f 
the Revolution. Their courage has never been 
questioned in any contest in which we have 
been engaged. They battled by our side with 
equal valor in the Revolutionary struggle, in 
the last war with Great Britain, and in the 
Mexican conflict. Virginia sent her sons, under 
the command of "Washington, to the relief of 
beleaguered Boston. Alone, the South de- 
feated the last and most desperate effort of 
British power to divide our country, at the bat- 
tle of New Orleans. From the days of Wash- 
ington till this time, they have furnished iheir 
full proportion of Soldiers for the field, of 
Statesmen for the cabinet, and of wise and 
patriotic Senators for our legislative halls. 

It is only bigotted ignorance that denies the 
equality of their public men to those of the 
North. To assume that our brethern in fifteen 
States lack the capacity to understand, and the 
ability to protect their own interests, is to as- 
sume that our government is a failure, and 
ought to be overturned. It is to declare that 
nearly one-half of our people are incapable of 
self government. Tbey have a vast extent of 
fertile land producing, not only tho cotton, 
rice and sugar cultivated in the United States, 
but a great abundance of the cereals and of ani- 
mal food. The census of 1850 shows that they 
produce more than one-half of the Indian Corn 
and of the live stock raised in the United States, 
and that they also manufactured one sixth of 
tho cotton cloth, one-quarter of the raw and 
one- sixth of the wrought iron made in our 
country. In addition they have a vast abun- 
dance of coal, iron, copper and lead, and every 
element of wealth and strength. They have 
availed themselves of these advantages to an 
extent far exceeding what is understood by the 
people of the North. 

I beg those who have been misled by constant 
and designed misrepresentation to study the 
statistics of our country, and they will see how 
grossly they have been deceived. A war upon 
them would lead to still greater development of 
their industry in competition with our own, as 



the late war with Great Britain made the United 
States her most formidable competitor in manu- 
facturing and in the arts. When we compare 
our local legislation with thoirr. TJehave reason 
to blush. The united debts of th") Slave States, 
excepting Virginia and Missouri, aro not equal 
to that of Pennsylvania, and their taxation less 
than that imposed upon -bo peop'a of the State 
of New York; and yet ihey have an extended 
and effective system of internal improvement, 
while they have avoided t,be ruincns competition 
growing out of an undue number of railroads, 
&c. 

In what way is this warf.aro to be conducted? 
None have been mad o.ion«;b io propose to 
muster armies to occupy their territory. Great 
Britain tried that in the Revoiut'.on, when the 
population of tho South was les.v than 2,000, - 
000. She attempted invasion agi>in in the late 
war, when their number^ were less than 3 500,- 
000. Nay, more, whi'e she armed Indian 
savages to carry murder sind rapine into the 
homes of the North, she atte[".pted to excite a 
servile insurrection in the Soutii. For this we 
cursed her brutal inhuTTj.?nity. Her own in- 
dignant 8tate3men expressed their abhorrence 
on the floor of Parliament; and yet, at this day, 
those who quote British journals to influence 
American opinions, have intimated that there 
might be a gratification of their hate in the 
burning homes of murdered families of their 
own countrymen, or by cutting the embank- 
ments of the Mississippi and submerging their 
land. 

But some have suggested w'ta comilacent 
air that the South could be easily snbiugated 
by blockading their ports with a f«w ships of 
war. Let these gentlomen stu'ly the geogra- 
phy of onr country. While the Atlantic coast 
line of the Northern States is 851 miles, that 
of the South, including the Gulf of Mexico, is 
3,076. We have 189 >,nd they have 'Jiv' har- 
bors. Great Britain, with her immense fleet, 
attempted blockade, and f«.iled. But, nssaming 
the success of this m;'3,.%urt who are to be the 
sufferers? Are we w^ing w.sr npon the >onth 
or upon the North? Upon the Southern plan- 
ter, or upon tho Northern mercbRnt, manu- 
faciurer and mechanic? This coasting trade is 
the chief support of Northern oomnierco — tho 
prize which Great Britain strngo;led so long 
and so persistently to gain. Not only do our 
ships carry the prod::ct8 of the South, but, at 
this time, our manufacturers annually consume 
of their cotton to the amouyt of more than 
$40 000,000. In tbd hand? of Northern car- 
riers and artisuna, this bomaips worth raoro 
than §150,000,000. The wbole price for thi- 
cotton crop received from aii the world about 
$200,000,000 each year, is pa'd out to the labor 
and industry of tho North. We can inflict 
great misery npon the South, but conld human 
ingenuity devisa a warfarf more destructive to 
all the interests of tho Northern States of this 
Confederacy? But, say cir Tieuublican friends, 
these evils may be h verted by onr internal 
channels. If we thus evade the blockade of 
the Soutb, to what end is all it cost brought on 
us? Is it sn object to disturb the courj^o of 



trade, in order to ruin Northern soamen and 
merchants and cities? 

But let us leave these pecuniary considera- 
tions for others more weighty with every pa- 
triot. Upon what field shall this contest be 
waited ? Upon what spot shall American shad 
American blood ? Whore, on this broad con- 
tinent, shall we fiad the arena, where every 
association and memory of the past will not 
forbid this fratricidal contest ? Or, when un- 
natural war shall have brought upon our peo- 
ple its ruin, and upon our nation its shame, to 
what ground shall we be brought at last ? To 
that we should have accepted at the outset. 

The question is simply this: Shall we have 
compromise after the war, or compromise with- 
out war* Shall we be aided in this settlement 
by the loss of national honor, the destruction 
of individual interest, the shedding of blood. 
and by carrying misery and mourning into the 
homes of our people? Mr. President, the honor 
of the North, the parties to the controversy, 
and the object in dispute, demand a compro- 
mise of this difficulty. I say the honor of the 
North demands a conciliatory policy. When 
our Constitution was formed there was but one 
free State. To day there are 19 free" and 15 
slave States. Then there were but two Sena- 
tors from the free States; now we have a ma- 
jority of eight in the Senate, and this will soon 
be increased. Than there wore but eight re- 
presentatives from the free States; um^er the 
census of 1860 we will have the proportion of 
151 members to 75. Then our population was 
about equally (jlivided between the Northern 
and Soutbern States (the N jrth 1 9li8,455, the 
South 1,901,372;) to-day we number more than 
18.000 000, they about 12 000 000. 

Those results are due not alone to natural 
causes, but to the policy that favored the 
commercial interest and immigration from 
other lands. This policy has ever been up- 
held loyally by the South, and history tells 
you by whom it was opposed. Would it 
not be base aud cowardly to withold at this day 
those courtesi33 and that cousideralion which \ 
we showed in the days of their comparative I 
strength? lid not one of our distinguished! 
Senators then declare that comity demanded ' 
that wo should permit them to travel through 
our State with their slaves, and that, therefore, 
he was opposed to the repeal of the law which 
allowed them to rem'iin hero for a period of 
nine months; and did not his colleague, then a 
member of the House of Ropresontatives, vote 
against allowing a petition for abolition of 
slavery in the District of Columbia to be read 
or referred? Were bills designed to embar- 
rass the exercise of their rights to reclaim fugi- 
tives, then fjund upon the Statute books of the 
Northern States? By the increase of our popula- 
tion, under the adjustment of the Constitution, 
the power and control of the destioies of our coun- 
try, are placed in the hand of the North. Does 
not every sentiment of patriotism and of hones- 
ty demand that wo shall exercise this power in 
:i spirit of conciliation and forbearance? Aud 
is it not a just cause for alarm to our Southern 
brethren to find men and journals who stcod by 



them in the pist, now becoming their most 
bitter and unscrupulous assailants, when their 
political power is weakened? 

It grows out of the acquisition of territories 
not contemplated by the Constitution — out of 
an expansion of our territory from 820,680 to 
2 936 166 square mihs. In tho progress of our 
country this has given rise to contlictiag vie^s, 
and our leading state.smen have, at diilbrent 
times, held incontiatent opinions. Air. Calhoun, 
at one time, decided, while a member of the 
Cabinet, that Congress had the power of legis- 
lating upon territorial questions. At a later 
day he took the opposite ground. John Quincy 
Adams, who opposed the admission of Mis- 
souri as a slave Slate in 1836, on the occasioQ 
of the admission of Arkansas, used the Ibllow- 
ing language: 

'•Mr. Chairman — I cannot consistently with 
my sense of my obligations as a citi/.en of the 
United States, and bound by oath to support 
their Constitution, / cannot object to the admis- 
sion of Arkansas into the Union as a slave Slate; 
I cannot propose or agree to make it a condition 
of her admission that a Convention of her peo- 
nle shall expunge this article from her Constttw 
tion. She is entitled to admission as a slave 
State as Louisiana and Mississippi, aud Ala- 
bama and Missouri, have been admitted, by 
virtue of that article in the treaty for the ac- 
quisition of Louisiana, which secures to the in- 
habitants of the ceded territories all the rights, 
privileges and immunities of the original citi- 
zens of the United States, and stipulates for 
their admission, conformably to that principle, 
into the Union. Louisiana was purchased as a 
country wherein slavery was the established 
law of the land. As Congress have not power in 
time of peace to abolish slavery in the original 
States of the Union, they aro equally destitute 
of the power in those parts of the territory 
ceded by France to the United States, by the 
name of Louisiana, where slavery existed at 
the acquisition. Slavery is, in this Union, tho 
subject of internal legislition in the States, and 
in peace is cognizable by Congress oaly, as it is 
tacitly tolerated and protected where it exists 
by the Coastitution of the United States, and 
as it mingles in their intercourse with other 
nations. Arkansas, therefore, comes, and has 
the right to come into the Union with her slaves 
and her slave laws. It is written in the bond, 
and however I may lament that it over was so 
written, I must faithfully peiiurm its obliga- 
tions " 

The region acquired by the Louisiana pur- 
chase, oxteading from the Gulf of Mexico to 
the Canadian lino, and, on its Northern limit, 
reaching from the Mississippi to the F^cilic, 
comprehends most that is valuable and jmpor- 
tantof the remaining territories. Citizens of 
the South hold as confidently and as sincerely 
that they are entitled to carry their slaves into 
this region, as does the Republican that thoy 
have no such right. We have had, heretofore, 
similar questions of jurisdiction between our 
own and foreign govornmoTits. When Groat 
Britain seized, in tho Northeast, a portion of 
oar country, which we held by tho sacred title 



'ftined by the Wood and suffering!? of (he Revo- 
loii^m, every Ameri au believed it was an an- 
ju,,t itivusriu; but we adjusted ifio diliiciiUy by 
a new bon:idaiy. Agsiin, when she made a 
claim on a part of the same Louisiana purchase 
on the noilliwest coast, we deni;'d its justice, 
but yielded up to the jurisdiction of the crown 
167 3(55 stjuare miles of the most valuable part 
of the Faci-tic coast, including its finest harbors 
and tireatest comLaercial facilities. We gave 
Op an area greater than New Englard, New 
York, Peonsyivania and New Jersey combined. 
Shall we yield to a foreign nation aud to a sys- 
tem of government condemned by our Consti- 
tution, what we will not concede to our own 
countrymen? Shall we, for the sske of p'ioce, 
siabject vast regioKs to principles of government 
antagonistic to oar own, an 1 then destroy our 
Union by refusing a compromise which would 
give to the South the occupation of a less valu- 
able territory in consideration of their giving 
up what they believe to be their constitutional 
right to occupy the whole? Is there any rea- 
son why we should be less conciliatory now 
than we have been heretelbre and are there 
not obvious ones why we should be more so, in 
view of our relative power? Did the men who 
now raihe the cry of no compromise and no 
concession, hold that language when we had 
a controversy with the crown of Great Britain? 

Let us look at the objections which are urged 
to this policy It is said this iiuestioa was de- 
cided at the late election. Questions of consti- 
tutional law ftre not to be decided by elections; 
if they were, oar Constitution would be worth- 
less, and all its guarantees of the rights of 
States and of individuals, of rights of conscience 
and religious liberty, might be annihilated — 
Neither is it true that the late canvass shows 
that the popu'ar will is opposed to compromise. 
Mr. Lincoln was made President by a constitu 
tional vote, and is entitled to our loyal and 
cheerful support, acd he shall have it ; but this 
is not the only result of the late congest. 

if iwo millions of voters declared themselves 
in favor of the principles put forth by his par- 
ty, three millions declared themselves opposed 
to them; if the Republicans triumphed in the 
choice of the Executive, we triumphed in gain- 
ing Congress, which makes the laws he is bound 
to carry out, without regard to his own views. 
If alt parties will yield to the results of the 
last election, and the fresident elect will de- 
clare that he will be governed by the will of the 
people and not by the will of a party, and that 
he will not exert the induonce of his place to 
defeat measures of compromise peace will ba 
restored to ou'' land. I hold that those who 
P'liut to tiie Chicago platforui. and not to the 
Constitution, as the guide of his conduct, do 
him a base wrong. 1 know ibat there are some 
that treat him us a man with manacles upon 
his hands; who boast that they hold in the Chi- 
cago platform a chattel mortgage upon his con- 
scieuco and his opinion. All honest men de- 
clare, if ho allows the declarations put forth 
ia 'he heat of a po:iticu.l contest, to control his 
aciioDs against his own judgment, he will de- 
bervo iojpeacbment and degrada'iou from his 



h'gh oCfice. I repel, for one, the imputations 
thus made against Mr. Lincoln, and the claims 
thus impudently put forth to personal and pe- 
culiar liens on bis views as most injurious to 
his honor and his induonce. Before the elec- 
tion, it v/.Ts said by his friends he was tho man 
best fitted to adjust the jarring conflicts of the 
day. L?it him then contiune to hold tho nation- 
al and disps^slo^ate position which was then 
claimed lor him. Wo invoke ihe Ilepublicans 
not to charge th/it he will bo a traitor to his 
country by making a partisan creed, and not 
the solemn oath of his oliico, the guide of his 
conduct. 

It is also said that the honor and dignity of 
our governmi^nf will not peruiit measures of 
compromise at this momeut. When the pres- 
ent ditiiculty wa.s only threatened, we wtro told, 
in answer to our atipsjals for aa adjuatment, 
that tbern was no cansa fur alarm; t'lat the 
South could not be driven out of ilic Union} 
the time had not come tor compromises; now, 
that six States have withdr;!wa, we are told it 
is too late, that the dignity of tha government 
will not permit it to make concessions The 
error consists in confounding the action of a few 
States with the position of the whole South — 
Wo admit that you cannot ofler Con.stitulional 
compromises to States that declare themselves 
outside of the pale of the Constitution. But is 
the attitude of South Carolina to be urged 
against the appeals of patriotic men in Virgin- 
ia? Are we to drive the Border States into 
concert of action with those who defy tho 
power of your government? Are we to give 
an impulse to revolution by inditference to the 
appeals of patriotic men and by insulting 
threats of coercion, and by irritating displays 
of power? Which cause was helped at the 
South by tbe (ender of arms by oar own State, 
— that of Union or that of Secession? All 
know that the future fate of our country de- 
ponds upon the action of the Border States, 
and while the beam trembles. New York throws 
its avvord into the scale and inclines it in favor 
of revolutivn. This called from tho onserva- 
tive Governor of Virginia, the declaration that 
" nothing that has occurred in the progress of 
this controversy has been worse timed and less 
excusable. If New York desires to preserve 
the Union a tender of men and money, under 
the promptings of passion, prejudice and ex- 
citement, will not produce this result." 

We do not ask concessions for men in open 
resistence to government, but to those who are 
slrug;j;liug for tho preservation of our Union. 
Shall we have no sympathy for those upon 
whom the whole weight of this contest fills? 
Can we listen, unmoved, to the entreaties of 
the Governor of Maryland, of the Senator of 
Iventucky, or refuse to second the patriotic 
edbrts of Virginia? Can we so entirely forget 
tho past history of our country, that we can 
stand upon the point of pride against States 
whose ci'izens battled with our fathers and 
[toured oiif, with them their bloo<l upon the soil 
of our State, amid the 11 ighSauds of the Uud- 
sou, and on the lields of Saratoga? I ask the 
old niea within tho sound of my voice, to what 



quarter did yon look for sympathy during the 
last war witii Great Britam, wben Iv'ew YorK 
was assailed upon the snoiv^c j' ,."& aad On- 
tario, and when the disciplined troops, who had 
successfully fought against Napoleon in the 
Peninsula, invaded us with co-operating fleets 
by the channel of Lake Champlain? Was it 
not to the States of the South? Is it well that 
States which then refused to allow their militia 
to pass their own borders to combat a common 
enemy, should be so prompt to tender them 
now to battle against our own countrymen? 

But it is urged, as a further objection, that 
at the instance of the South, we once compro- 
mised this territorial question, and that it has 
been untrue to the adjustment, although it was 
made at its own request, and against the wish- 
es of the North. This misstatement has been 
most injurious in its intiuence upon the public 
mind. The Governor of NewYoik. in his late 
message, says, this State strenuously opposed 
the establishment of the compromise line of 
1820. In this he is mistaken; it was voted for 
by every Northern Senator, and the only op- 
position to this line came from the South. The 
New York Senators voted against the admis- 
sion of Missouri, even after the passage of the 
act establishing the line at 30 degrees 30 
minutes. The establishment of this line was a 
Northern measure — every Northern man vot- 
ing for it — the whole opposition to it is coming 
from the South. It is true that after the 
amendment was engrafted on the bill, many 
Northern men voted against the act, but that 
was opposition to the admission of Missouri, and 
not to the line. The South was compelled to 
accede to it to secure the admission of Mis- 
souri-, bat it always held it to be an infringe- 
ment upon its rights. Even when this con- 
cession was made to the North, the Senators 
from this and other Northern States, whose 
votes engrafted in the bill what is called the 
compromise line, voted against the act. The 
South did not even gain by this concession the 
Totes of Northern Senators, except two, one 
from New Hampshire and one from Rhode 
Island. Mr. Lincoln admits that this opposi- 
tion to the admision of Missouri was unjustifia- 
ble, and that he was in favor of letting new 
States come into this Confederacy, with or 
without Slavery, as they might elect. In of- 
fering to take tbis line, which gives to the 
North the largest chare of the most valuable 
portion of our territories, it. feels that it is 
meeting ns ixiora than half way in its efforts for 
adjusimtn:. 

But it is said that a compromise of this con- 
troversy will ba a sacritica of principle to which 
hon-js: men cannot assent. Then the Constitu- 
tion itself cannut be supported by honust men, 
for it is based upon and made up of compro- 
mises. It is not proposed to make a new Con- 
stitution, or to alter the terms of the existing 
one, all parties at the North and South alike 
claim tJiat tbey only demand their present 
rights under tbat iustrnment; but owing to 
causes to which i have referred, an antagonism 
springs up ia regard to its construction, and this 
mii.li b: uttilau by Ibice or by adjustment. Let 



N PS take care that we do not mistake passion 
/ and prejudice and partizan purposes for princi- 
ple. Tbe cry of no compromise is false in 
wiorals, it is treason to the spirit of the Consti- 
tution; it is infidelity in religion, the cross itself 
is a compromise and is pleaded by many who 
refuse all charity to their fellow citizens. It ia 
the vital principle of social existence, it unites 
the family circle; it sustains the church, and 
upholds nationalities. 

But the Republicans complain that having 
won a victory, we ask them to surrender its 
fruits. We do not wish them to give up any 
political advantage. We urge measures which 
are demanded by the honor and the safety of 
our Union. Can it be that they are less con- 
cerned than we are? Will they admit that 
they have interests antagonistic to those of the 
whole commonwealth? Are they making sac- 
rifices, when they do that which is required by 
the common welfare? 

The objicts of this Conv^ention are, to assure 
the conservative men of the South that they 
have at least the sympathy of 312 000 electors 
of New York in the contest in which they are 
engaged, and to keep the Border States in the 
Union, and thus ultimately restore its integrity. 
But we have another purpose. This is not the 
time for the exhibition of party spirit. Wo 
propose to bury party dillerences ; we seek to 
restore the moral power of New York, so that 
it may now, as ia times past, be the theatre 
upon which the cause of our country shall 
triumph. To do this we must have unity of 
action — all must agree to submit to some tribu- 
nal. The present difficulties have sprung into 
existence since the last popular election ; they 
have taken this whole community by surprise, 
and conflicting views are held with regard to 
the proper line of action. To secure this union 
of purpose, for one, I am in favor of making 
an appeal to the Republicans and to the Legis- 
lature of this State, to submit the proposition 
of Senator Crittenden to the vote of the people 
of New York ; if it is approved, then we will 
exert ourselves to secure an adjustment upon 
that basis ; if, upon the other hand, it is re- 
jected, then we shall know that the people of 
this State are opposed to the policy of com- 
promise and conciliation. I do not fear the re- 
sult. But if it is, unhappily, true that the ultra 
Republicans represent the people of the State, 
then are the days of the Republic numbered. — 
Then the future is dark and uncertain. 

We may have not only one but many Con- 
federacies. Before we are involved in the evils 
and horrors of domestic war, let those upon 
whom it will bring ba.]kruptcy and ruin, and 
into whose homes it may carry desolation and 
death, be allowed to speak in favor of the policy 
of peace. If the Legislature do not, it will be 
becau.'^e they dare not let the popular senti- 
ment be uttered. If the public voice is heard, 
all will yield to its decisions and we shall be 
united in action. In the downfall of onr nation 
and amidst its crumbling ruins we will cling to 
the fortunes of New York. We will stand to- 
gether and so shape the future that its glory, 
and greatness, and wonderful advantagas shall 



not be sacrificed to rival interests. We will 
loyally follow its Hag through the g'ooiu aod 
perils of the fature, and io the saddest hour 
there will remaia a gleam of hope, and we can 
still hail with pride the motto emblazoned on 
its shield, excelsiob! 



Hon. Horatio Seymour, 

BBFORE THE DEMOCRATIC STATE 
CONVENTION., AT AL.BANY, 

September 10, 1862, 

ON RECEIVING THE NOMINATION 
FOR GOVERNOR. 



Mr. President, having uniformly and deci- 
dedly expressedmy unwillingness to hold any 
official position at this time, I did not expect 
my name would be brought before this Conven- 
tion. The nomination you have made subjects 
me to great inconvenience, whatever may be 
the result of this election. I came to this Con- 
vention expecting to aid in placing at the head 
of the ticket the name of one whom I feel to be 
more fit than myself for that honorable posi- 
tion. But. sir, whatever may be the injury to 
myself, I cannot refuse a nomination made in a 
manner that touches my heart and fills me with 
a still stronger sense of my obligations to this 
great and patriotic party. In addition to my 
debt of gratitude to partial friends, I am im- 
pelled by the condition of our country, to sacri- 
fice my personal wishes and interests to its good 

Two years have not passed away since a Con- 
vention, remarkable for its numbers, patriotism 
and intelligence, assembled at this place to 
avert if possible the calamities which alll ct our 
people. In respectful terms, it implored the 
leaders of the political party which had tri- 
umphed at a recent election to submit to the 
people of this country some measure of concilia- 
tion which would save them from civil war. 
It asked that before we should be involved in 
the evils and horrors of domestic bloodshed, 
those upon whom it would bring bankruptcy 
and ruin, and into whose homes it would carry 
desolation and death, should be allowed to 
speak. That prayer for the rights of onr peo- 
ple was derided and denounced, and fatso as- 
surances were given that there was no danger. 
The storm came upon us with all its fury — and 
the war so constantly and clearly foretold, 
desolated our land. It is said no compromises 
would have satisfied the South. If we had 
tried them it would not now be a matter of 
discordant opinion. If these ofi'ers had not 
satiotied the South, they would have gratified 
loyal men at the North, and would have united 
Ufl more perfectly. 

Animated by devotion to our Constitution and 
Union oar people rallied to the support of Gov- 
ernment, and one year since shewed an armed 



strength that astonished the world. We again 
appealed to those who wielded this mighty 
material power, to use it for the restoration of 
the Uuion and to uphold the Constitution, and 
were told that he who clamored for his Consti- 
tutional rights was a traitor! 

Congress assembled. Inexperienced in the 
conduct of public atlairs, drunk with power, it 
began its course of agitation, outrage and wrong. 
The defi^at of our arms at Manassas, for a time 
filled it with terror. Under this influence it 
adopted the resolution of Mr. Crittenden, de- 
claring, 

"That ihe present deplorable Civil War has been forc- 
"ed upon the country by the Disunionists of tne Boutliern 
"Slates, now in arms aijainsl the Constitutional Govern- 
"ment, and in aims aiound the Capital; That in this Na- 
"tiondl emergency Coa^jress banishini? all feelings of 
"mere pa*?ion or i eseatmeut, will recollect only its duly 
"to the whole Couiitrv; That this war is not waged, on 
"their part, m any spirit of oppression or for any purpose 
"of conquest or subjugation, or purpose of overthrowing 
'•or interfering wi h the rights or established mslituiion* 
"of those Stales, but to defend and inaintam the suprema- 
"cy of the Consti ution and to preserve the Union, with 
"all ihe dignity, equality and rigiits of the several iitaiea 
"unimpaired, and that as soon as these object* are accom- 
"plished the war ought to cease. 

Again the people rallied aroand the flag of 
the Union. But no soonar were their fears al- 
layed than they began anew the factious in- 
tiignes — the violent discussions and the uncon- 
stitutional legislation which ever brings defeat 
and disgrace upon Nations. In vain were they 
warned of the consequences of their follies. la 
vain did the President implore forbearance and 
moderation. No act was omitted which would 
give energy to the Secessionists, or which would 
humiliate and mortify the loyal men of the 
South. Every topic calculated to divide 
and distract the North was dragged into em- 
bittered debates. Proclamations of emancipa- 
tion were urged upon the President, which conld 
only confiscate the property of loyal citizens at 
the South; for none others could be reached by 
the power of the government. The confiscation 
act had already forfeited the legal rights of all 
who were engaged in or who aided and upheld 
the rebellion. These were excited to desperate 
energy by laws which made their lives, their 
fortunes, the safety of their families and homes 
depend upon the success of their schemes. — 
From the Dragon's teeth, sown broadcast by 
Congress, have sprung the armies which have 
driven back our forces, and which now beleag- 
ures the Capital of our Country. The acts of 
the National Legislature have given pleasure to 
the Abolitionists, victories to the Secessionists. 
But while treason rejoices and triumphs, defeat 
and disgrace have been brought upon the Flag 
of our Country and the defenders of our Consti- 
tution. Everyman who visited Washington six 
months ago could see and feel we were upon 
the verge of disaster. Discord, jealousy, envy 
and strilb pervaded its atmosphere. 

I went to the camp of our soldiers. Amid 
the hardships of an exhausting campaign — 
amid sufferings from exposure and want — amid 
those languishing upon beds of sickness, or 
those struck down by the casualities of war, 
I heard and saw only devotion to our Consti- 
tution, and love for our Country's Flag. Each 



eyo brightened as it looked upon the National 
S-tandaid with Its glorious emblazonry of Stars 
and Sirip 3. From this scene of patriotic do- 
votion 1 went into our iSational Capitol. I tra- 
versed its Mosaic pavements; 1 gained upon its 
walls ot polished marble; L saw upon its ceil- 
ings all that wealth, lavishly poured out, could 
do .0 make them sugtesiive of our country's 
i-reatii bS and its wonderfal wealth of varied 
|j'it>riuCL!on3 Art had exhausted itself in palut- 
3tig and Sculpture lo make every aspect sugges- 
tive of high and noble thought and purpose. 
I'uU vi' the associalious which cluster about this 
vatst Temple which should be dedicaded to pa- 
tribiism and truth; 1 entered its Legislative 
Halls; their gilded walls and gorgeous furni- 
ture did not contrast more strongly with the 
rude scenes of martial life than did tha glistcu 
iug putrescence and thin lacquer of Congress- 
ional virtue contrast with the sterling loyalty 
and noble self-sacritica of our country's de- 
iQudera. I listened to debates full of biiterness 
aud^tnfu. 

1 saw in the camp a heartfelt homage to our 
national tlag — a stern dedance of those who 
dared to touch its sacred fold with hostile 
hands. I heard in the Capitol threats of mu- 
tilation of its emblazonry — by striking down 
, She'lifb of Slates. He who would rend our 
.National standiird by dividing our Union is a 
Traitor. Ho who would put out one glittering 
star from its azure held, is a Traitor too. 

, TI1|; PB E3KNT CONDITION OF OUR COUNTRY. 

Lot U8 now coafrout the facts of our condi- 
tion, and they shail be slated in the language 
of those who brought this administration into 
powur, and who now are politically opposed to 
the members of this Convention. After the ex- 
penditure of nearly one thousand millions of 
dollars, and the sacrilice of more than one 
hundred thousand Northern lives in the laa- 
guag*» of the Evening Foit; 

'VVIial Jius been Uie result ? Our armies of tiie West, 
t-L)e ui>lil,e'Vi(;l;>rs ut" Knrl Uouelsoii uikI cSliiloli, nrf. .st;ai- 
t--rinr.''o iliRt 110 man Iciiosvs ilieir wliereaboul, wliiio ihe 
fofvtlicv werr stnl lo tiis|)crsf^ i'ta liuiKtred umIms ;n Uieir 
rear, i^irealeiii^ig ilie cities "f Teane.'see aiul Kentuc!<y, 
«ii,(J even uJv:uit;tiig inward one of the pniK-ipal ciii;i- 
meruiitl cities ol the Free .Stales. Tiiere i.« no loader- 
tliip, Ho miiiy of com rami, apparctnly no plan or con- 
cert 01 atjtioii 111 the enure rejrioii we iiave undertskeii 
lo iiold anil tletY-uU. At llie same time, our army of the 
E:\sJf niiiu!)erti;g- 2.jO,(l(R) thousand troop.s, I'ully armed 
and cquipjiert and admirably disciplined, after investing- 
the Capital of tlie enemy, lias been driven hack tc) lis 
oiiniiial poiUioit.oii lilts l-*olomac, decimated in numbers 
and unprepared to malie a single vigorous jnovcmeiil in 
ail \ a lice. 

And it adds: — 

Now it is ilViili-'.ss lo sluit our eyes to the f'lcl thai this 
;-, a lailure, disgraceful, humiliating; and awful. 

The Ri^enins; Journal^ the accredited organ 
of the Socr''t.ary of State, now admits the truths 
uttered in this llall when we assembled here in 
February, ISGl ; truths then doridod and de- 
no'aticed as absurd and treasonable. It says: 

TM War lias been a stern schoolmaster lo the People 
of tli3 I>oyal Slates. We have learned the folly of uii- 
derraving: our enemies We have learned thai Uiey are 
e'-i-^al.Jy bra.ve, equally hardy, equally (|uick willed, 
equally ciuiuwcd v.-ith m.irtial ijualities wiih our.seives. 
We have learned lliey are la'nbly in earnest in iheir 
offori.5 10 achieve ihe:r ends. 



Tho Nev7 York Tribune declares that 

"The Country is in peril. Vievied frMm the .slanli- 
poinl of the pilbi c e-iimate of ' the siiuaiion,' it is in tr- 
ireme peril. The Re els seem lo he piisiinig for ward 
their forces all along Uie border line from Uie Ailanlic 
10 Ihc Missouri. Tin-y are Uircalening iiieI'oioi!.iae and 
•lie Ohio. They are sinking at \Vash1n5jfon, Cuiciiinai 
and Louisville. 'I'his simultaneous movemeir. is both 
alarming and encouraging. )l is aiarming beciu-iC, 
ihrnHgh ihe timidity, despondency, or folly of llie Fed- 
eral Government, it may become lomiv.iranly successful, 
!;ivingio the toe a lodgment 111 some portion of Uie i''ree 
Ciiaies which may require weeks to break up " 

Bolt it is admitted by those who were opposed 
to us, that debt and di-leat are not the boaviSst 
ealamiiies which weigh us down. A viitaofia 
people and a pure government cau bear up 
against any amount of outward presstfro 'or 
phy.sicai calamity, but when lottcnness and 
corruption pervade tho hgislative nail or ex- 
ecutive depirtmeut the heart of the patriot, 
faints and his arm withers. Tho organ of tho 
Secretary of State admits: , 

" There have been mistakes. There have been specu- 
lation. Weak men hive disgraced, and Dad men have 
betrayed the Goveinment Contra, tors have ■ fatten . 
ed on fat joljs. Adveinur. r.s have found the war a source 
of private gam. iVloal des|)orado::s have flocked about 
the Na'ional Capital and lain 111 wait for pr'-y. The 
scum of the land lias galliered about the soun es of pMw-' 
er and dehied them by its reek >iiid oIlciiFiivc- odijr — > 
There has been ini-inanagcmciii in the department.-; inis- 
inamgement- wherever greai labur has be;.'h performed 
and great re^ponsilnliin-s iievolving Men— even Presi- 
dents ami Cabinet olbcers .and iJ.MiimaiKli'ig Ger.erals — 
liave erred, bec-iu-e tliey couid nol gra p ihe lull siguiti- 
cance of the drama, and because they were coinpelied 10 
slnke oulon untrodden paths." — Eve. Journal. 

Hear the voice of a leading Ivepublicaa ora- 
tor : 

" 1 declare it upon my responsiliility as a Kenator of. 
ihe United Slal'.'S," said .loliii V Hale, " lliai the Imeiiies 
ot Ills country are 111 greaier d n-'cr lo.day from the cor-' 
rupuoiis anil Irom the pndiigacy praclieed 111 Ihe va lous 
('eparlinents of Ihe (iovernment than luey are from ilia 
open enemy in the Held." 

The Now York World exclaims in an agony 
of remorse: 

li is Willi dismay and unspeakable shame .that we, who 
liave supported the adminislration from lUe oeuimiing,. 
observe is aou^e of its power of arrest. There is no 
such ihiu^ as either jusiifyimr or extcniiatiiig its con. 
duct in this pirticular. Kvery prineii) e of Ameiioaii 
liberty, every regard for the loyal cause, every senu- 
met.l of justi<;e, every impuNe of manhood, cries out 
ag.'iinsi it. Tile man who thinks at idl is absolu elj 
.siaggered ihul these things can be. Tiiey seeiri like 
some hideous dream. One can almo.sl faujy thai 
Mephistophiles himself had gol access inio the Councils 
of the gover.".ment, and by some device, fresh from the 
pii, had duoried us energies, from the repression of re- 
bellion to Ihe suppression of'libeny. 

The New York Times demands a change in 
the Administration, and in tho conduct of 
aaiairs. 

I have thus carefully set forth the de- 
clarations and named the witnesses to this 
awful indictment, against our rulers, for wo 
mean to proceed with all the care and candor, 
and all the solemnity of a Judicial Tribunal. 

It is with a sorrowful heart I point to these 
dark pictuttjs, not drawn by journals of the 
Democratic party. God knows that as a mem- 
ber of that patriotic organiza'ion, as an Ameri- 
,can citizen, I would glaoly efface them if I 
couid. But, ales, they are grounded upoa 
truths that cannot be gainsaid, Onco more, 



9 



then, our Republican fellow-citizens, in thia 
day of our common humiliation and disgrace, 
we imploro you as respectfully as ia tho hour 
of your political triumph listen to our sugges- 
tions. We do not come with reproaches, but 
with entreaties. Follow the pathways marked 
out by the Constitution aLd we shall be extri- 
. cated from our perilous position. On the other 
hand, if you will still be governed by those who 
brought us iato our presont condition, you will 
learn too late that there are yet deeper depths 
of degradation before us, and greater miseries 
to be borne than those which now oppress us. 
]\^ay more, the President of the United States 
appeals to us all, in his communication with 
the loyal men of the Border States, when he 
says he is pressed to violate his duty, his oath 
of otHce, and the Constitution of the land — 
pressed by cowardly and heartless men, living 
far away from the scenes of war, fattening 
upon the wealth coined irom the blood and 
misery of the land, and living in those localities 
waere official investigations show that this peo- 
ple and Government ha^'e been robbed by fraud- 
ulent contracts. Such men demand that those 
who have Buffered most in this contest, who 
have shown the highest and purest patriotism 
nnder the terrible trials of divided families, of 
desolated homes, of ruined fortunes and of blood 
stained fields, should have a new and further 
evil inflicted upon them by the hands of a Gov- 
ernment they are struggling to uphold. By the 
help of God and the people wa will relieve the 
President from that pressure. 

NECESSITY IfOR PARTY ORGANIZATIONS. 

An attempt is made to close the ears of our 
Republican friends to our appeals, because we 
act as a poli'ical organization. Can we do oth- 
erwise ? Would not the dispersion of this an- 
cient party, identified as it is with the growth, 
greatness and glory of our land, be looked upon 
as a calamity, even by our opponents? Did not 
a shadow fall upon our country when it was torn 
apart at Charleston; and do not men of all par- 
ties point to its di.-5ruption as one of the causes 
of this unnatural wart Is it not just we should 
have a representation in the State and National 
government proportioned to our contributions 
to our armies and the treaiury ? If we elect all 
of our ticket at this time, we .'•hall have no more 
than our proportional share of political power. 
It may bo said we should meet without regard 
to political organize ions, and nominate officers . 
This destroys tho object of such organizations. 
They would cease to be protections against 
abuses of power or the inroads of corruption. 
Let the two great parties be honest and honor- 
able ertough to meet iu fair and open discussion 
with woU defined principles and policies- Then 
each will servo our couutry as w«!! out of power 1 
as in power The vigilance kept alive by party ' 
contest guards against corruption or oppression 
This watchfulness is most needed when unusual 
expenditures of money present unusual temp- 
tations to the corrupt and sellish. 

For another reason we cannot disband our 
crganiziation. Tho Union men of tha Border 
and more Soutbs^ra States, without distinction 
of party, implore us not to do so. They tell [ 



ns a triumph of our party now would be worth 
more than victories upon the battle held. It 
would re assure their friends, it woull weaken 
their opponents. Every advantage gained over 
abolitionism puts down the reb'^^lion. While 
they and we know there are many just and pa- 
triotic men in the Republican party, it is still 
true that its success gives power and inlluence 
to the violent and fanatical, and that their par- 
ty action always goes beyond their parly plat- 
form. 

Every fair man admits there Is no way of 
correcting abuses but by a change of political 
leaders. The Republican party demanded this 
when they charged abuses upon Democratic 
administration. They should concede the 
principle now. 

Experience shows that frauds practiced by 
political friends are not punished by men ia 
power. It is conceded that gross frauds have 
been committed in ditferent departments of gov- 
ernment; that they have brought distress upon 
our soldiers, defeat upon our arms and disgrace 
upon our people. But not one man has been pun- 
ished, or made to foel the power of that preroga-. 
live which is claimed to be an incident of war. 
Corruption that has done more to destroy the 
Mational power than armed rebwllion, has gone 
unscathed. The Sentinel who slept upon 
h's post, has been sentenced to death — the 
olficial who closed his eyes to frauds, which 
destroyed armies, is quietly removed, by and 
with the advice of the Sen te aud represents 
the Nation's character at the Capital of a frieud- 
ly power! Citizens in loyal States wno became 
tho objects of suspicion or of malignant as- 
saults, have been seized at their homes, drag- 
ged to distant prisons without trial and with- 
out redress, while each convicted plunderer 
walks freely and boldly among the people he 
has robbed and wronged Maladministration 
demands change of administration. 

At this time issues should bo fairly and bold- 
ly made. It h no dishonor to be mistaken, 
but is disgraceful not to be outspoken. Let 
this war at least settle questions of principlo. 
A few months will decide who is right and who 
is wrong now, as the past two years have shown 
who were right and who were wrong hcretoforo. 
We are in favor of the rights of the Siato, as 
well as of the General Government; we are in 
favor of local self-government, as well as of tho 
National jurisdiction within its proper .sphere,,,. 

While we thus meet as a political organizar^ 
tion it is not for partisan purpose.s. \Ve can . 
best serve our country in this relatiouahip. 
The President of the United States will boar 
witness that ho has not been pressed or em- 
barrassed by us. We have loyally responded to 
every call made on us by constituted authority. 
We have obeyed all orders ;o reinforce our 
armies. When we were in power wo denounced 
the higher lawdoct-rine — the principlo that men 
might set up their wills against tho statutes of 
the land — as troasonable. Wo denounced i{tj 
when uttered by Northern men; we uro com- . 
battiug it now when it is asserted by tho rebel- 
lious South. We repudiate it by submitting to 
every demand of our GoverDment made within 



10 



the limits of rightful jnrisdiction. Thii' obedi- 
ence has not been constrained, bat cheerfully ren- 
dered, even in support of a party and policy to 
which we are opposed. We have struggled to 
sustain not only the letter but the spirit of our 
laws. We feel that we have set an example of 
loyalty that will not be lost upon upon those 
opposed to us. Having done our duty, we 
now demand our rights, and we shall at this 
time set in calm and fearless judgment upon 
the conduct of our rulers. Ours shall not be 
the language of discord and violence. We de- 
plore the passionate and vindictive assaults of 
leading Republican journals upon those hold- 
ing civil or military stations. Above all we 
protest in behalf of our country's honor and 
dignity, against their insubordinate and disre- 
spectful language towards the President of 
these United States. Such language wrecks 
the authority of Government and tends to 
anarchy and public disorder. 

For another reason, we cannot disband our 
organization. No other party can save this 
couutry. It alone has clearly defined purposes 
and well settled principles. It has been well said 
in our Congressional Address, that under its 
guidance, 

From five milhons, the population increased to thirty 
millions. The Revoiui oiiary deht wa« exlinguished. — 
Two foreign wars were .sucee^sfully prosecuieii, wiili a 
moderaie outlay and small army and navy, and willioul 
the suspensicm of the habeas corpus; wiilioul one infrac- 
tion of ihc Constitution; without one usurpatiort of powc; 
vriihoul suppressing a single newspaper; vvitliout impris- 
onin ■ a single editor; without limit lo the freedom o( the 
press; or of speech in or out of Congress, but in the midst 
ot the grossest abuse of both ; and without llie arrest of 
a single •' traitor," though the Harliord Convention sat 
durnig one of the wars, und in the other !;>enaiors invited 
the fciiemy to " Ureei our Volunteers with bloody hands 
and welcome them to Hospitable Graves"! 

During all this tiine wealth increa.sed, business of all 
kinds multiplied, prosperity smiled on every side, taxes 
were low, wages were high, the North and the South 
furnished a market for each other's prouucls at good 
prices, publ.c liberty was secure, private rights undis- 
turbed; every man's house was his castle; the Courts 
were open to all ; no passports for travel, no secret po- 
lice, no sp es, no informers, no bastiles; the right lo as- 
semble peaceably, the right to petition; freedom of reli- 
gion, freedom of speech, a frcv ballot, and a free press; 
and all this lime ihe Constitution maintained and the 
Union of the Stales preserved. 

WHT THE REPUBLICAN PAETT CANNOT SAVE THE 
COUNTRT. 

On the other hand, the very character of the 
Republican organizations, makes it incapable of 
conducting the alfairs of the Government. For 
a series of years, it has practiced a system of 
coalitions, with men differing in principle, until 
it can have no distinctive policy. In such 
chaotic masses, the violent have most control. 
They have been educating their followers for 
years, through the press, not to obey laws 
which did not accord with their views. How can 
they demand submission from whole communi- 
ties, while they cootend that individuals may op- 
pose laws opposed to their consciences? They 
are higher law men. They insist that the contest, 
in which we are engaged, is an irrepressible one 
and that therefore the South could not avoid it, 
unless they were willing at the outset to sur- 
render all that abolitionists demanded. To 
declare that this contest is irrepressible, de- 



clares that otir Fathers formed a government, 
J which could not stand. Are such men, the 
proper guardians of this government ? Have 
not their speeches and acts given strength to 
the rebellion, and have they not also enabled 
its leaders to prove to their deluded followers, 
that the contest was an Irrepressible one ? 

But their leaders have not only asserted that /, 
this contest was 'rrepressible, unless the South '* 
would give up what extreme Republican de- 
mand, (their local institutions,) but those ia 
power have done much to justify this rebellion 
in the eyes of the world. The guilt of rebellioo 
is determined by the character of the govern- 
ment against which it is arrayed. The right of 
revolution, in the language of President Lin- 
coln, is a sacred right when exerted against a 
bad government. 

We charge that this rebellion is most wicked 
because it is against the best Government that 
ever existed. It is the excellence of our Gov- 
ernment that makes resistance a crime. Re- 
bellion is not necessarily wrong. It may be an 
act of the highest virtue — it may be one of the 
deepest depravity. The rebellion of our Fa- 
thers is our proudest boast — the rebellion of 
our Brothers is the humiliation of our Nation is 
our National disgrace. To resist a bad Gov- 
ernment is patriotism — to resist a good one is 
the greatest guilt. The first is patriotism, the 
last is treason. Legal tribunals can only regard 
resistance of laws, as a crime but in the forum 
of public sentiment the character of the Gov- 
ernment will decide if the act is treason or 
patriotism. 

Our Government and its administration are 
different things; but in the eyes of the civilized 
world, abuses, weakness or folly in the con- 
duct of affairs go far to justify resistance. — 
I have read to you the testimony of Messrs. 
Greely, Weed, Bryant, Raymond and Marble, 
charging fraud, corruption, outrage and in- 
competency upon those in power. Those who 
stand up to testify to the incompetency of these 
representatives of a discordant party to conduct 
the affairs of our Government are politically 
opposed to us. Bear in mind that the embarrass- 
ments of President Lincoln grows out of the con- 
flicting views of his political friends, and their 
habits and principles of insubordinaiion. His 
hands would be strengthened by a Democratic 
victory, and if his private prayers are answered 
we will relieve him from the pressure of phi- 
lantrophists who thirst for blood, and who call 
for the extermination of the men, women and 
children of the South. The brutal and bloody 
language of partisan editors and political 
preachers have lost us the sympathy of the 
civilized world in a contest where all mankind 
should be upon one side. 

Turning to the Legislative Departments of 
our government, what do we see? In the his' 
tory of the decline and fall of Nations, there are 
no more striking displays of madness and folly. 
The assemblage of Congress throws gloom over 
the Na'-ion; its continuance in session is more 
disastrous than defeat upon the battle field. It 
excites alike alarm and disgust. 
The public are disappointed in the results of 



11 



the war. This is owing to the differing objects ■ 
of the people on the one hand, and of the fanat- 
ical agitators in and out of Congress on the other. 
In the army, the Union men of the North and 
South battle side by side, under one flag, to put 
down rebellion and uphold the Union and Con- 
stitution. Iq Congress a fanatical majority make 
war on the Union men of the South and strength- 
en the hands of Secessionists by words and acts 
which enable them to keep alive the flames of 
civil war. What is done on the battle held by 
the blood and treasure of the people, is undone 
by Senators. Half of the time is spent in fac- 
tious measures designed to destroy all confi- 
dence in the government at the South, and the 
rest in annoyiog our army, in meddling with its 
operations, embarrassing our generals and in 
publishing undigested and unfounded scandal. 
One party is seeking to bring about peace, the 
other to keep alive hatred and bitterness by in- 
terferences. They prove the wisdom of Solo- 
mon, when he said: •' It is an honor to a man 
to cease from strife, but overy fool will be med- 
dling." 

This war cannot be brought to a successful 
conclusion or our country restored to an honor- 
able peace under the Republican leaders for 
another reason. Our disasters are mainly due 
to the fact that they have not dared to tell the 
truth to the community. A system of misre- 
presentation had been practiced so long and so 
successfully that when the war burst upon us 
they feared to let the people know its full pro- 
portions, and ihey persisted in assuring their 
friends it was but a passing excitement. They 
still asserted that the South was anable to 
maintain and carry on a war. They denounced 
as a traitor every man who tried to tell the 
truth and to warn our people of the magnitude 
of the contest. 

Now, my Republican friends, you know that 
the misapprehensions of the North with regard 
to the South has drenched the land with blood. 
Was this ignorance accidental^ I appeal to 
you Republicans, if for years past, throuch the 
press and in publications which have been urged 
upon your attention by the leaders of your par- 
ty, you have not been taught to despise the 
power and resources of the South? I appeal 
to you to say if this teaching has not been a 
^art of the machinery by which power has been 
gained? I appeal to you to answer if those 
who tried to teach truths now admittted have 
not been denounced? I appeal to you if a 
book, boyond all others, false, bloody 
and treasonable, was not sent out with 
the endorsement of all your managers; and is 
it not true that now, when men blush to own 
they believed its statements , that its 
author is honored by an official station? It is 
now freely confessed by you all, that you have 
been deceived with respect to the South Who 
deceived you? Who, by false teachings, in- 
stilled contempt and hate into the miods of our 
people? Who stained our land with blood? 
Who caused ruin and distress? All these 
things are within your own knowledge. — 
Are their authors the leaders to rescue us from 
oar calamities? They shrink back appalled from 



the mischief they have wrought, and tell yon 
it is an irrepressible contest. That reason is as 
good for Jell'erson Davis as for them. They 
attempt to drowu reflections by new excite- 
ments and new appeals to our passions. Hav- 
ing already, in legislation, gone far beyond the 
limits at whicu, by their resolutions, they were 
pledged to stop, they now ask to adopt mea- 
sures which they have heretofore denounced as 
unjust and unconstitutional. For this leason 
they cannot save our coanlry. 

As our national calamities thicken upon us 
an attempt is made by their authors to avoid 
their responsibfliiies by insisting that our 
failures are due to the fact tha: their measures 
are not carried out, although Government has 
already gone far beyond its pledges. The de- 
mands of these men will never cease, simply 
because they hope to save themselves from con- 
demnation by having unsatisiiod demands At 
the last fcjbssion Congress not only abolished 
slavery in the District of Columoia, but, to 
quiet climoroua men, an act of Confiscation 
and Emancipation was passed, which, in the 
opinion of leading Kepuolicans, was unconsti- 
tutional and unjust. By this act the rebels 
have no property — not even their own lives — and 
they own no slaves. But to the astonishment 
and disgust of those who believe in the policy 
of statutes and proclamations, the.»o rebels Btill 
live and fight and hold their si ves. These 
measures seem to have reanimated them. They 
have a careless and reckless way of appropri- 
ating their lives and property, which by act of 
Congress belong to us, in support of their 
cause. 

But these fanatical men have learned that it 
is necessary to win a victory before they di- 
vide the spoil — and what do they now propose? 
As they cannot take the properly of rebels 
beyond their reach they will take the property 
of the loyal men of the Border States. The 
violent men of this party as you know from ex- 
perience, my conservative Republican friend, in 
the end have their way. They now demand 
that the President shall issue a Proclamation 
of immediate and universal emancipation ? 
Against whom is this to be directed? Not 
against those in rebellion for they came within 
the scope of the act of Congress. It can 
only be applied to those who have been true to 
our Uuion and our Flag. They are to be pun- 
ished for their loyalty. When we consider 
their sufferings and their cruel wrongs at the 
hands of the secessionists, their reliance upon 
our faith, is not this proposal black with ingrati- 
tude? 

The scheme for an immediate emancipation 
and general arming of the slaves throughout 
the South is a proposal for the butchery of 
women and children, for scenes of lust and 
rapine; of arson and murder nnparalelled in the 
history of the world. The horrors of the French 
Revolution would become tame in comparison. 
Its eilect would not be confined to the walls 
of cities, but there would be a wide spread 
scene of horror over the vast expanse of 
great States, involving alike the loyal and 
seditious. Such malignity and cowardice would 



THE NEW-YORK WEEKLY ARGUSi 



To Restore the Uulou and Maintain the Constitation. 



For j-ears the Democratic and Conservative sentiment of the Xation has been keenly alive to the 
necessity of being faithfully and ably represented by a first class Newspaper, pubhshed in the Citj 
of New York, sustaining the same relation to it as does the New York Tribune to Abolitionism and 
all kinds of Radicalism. 

The undersigned, from their connexion with the Albany Atlas & Argus — one of the oldeit andi 
best known Democratic papers in the Union — had been constantly urged to respond to this demand: 
and finally yielded to the wishes of their political friends, and translerred the publication of theiii 
Weekly to the city of New York, and. issued it under the name of 

]\EW YOKM WEEKLY ARGUS. 

The experiment has met with complete success, We are grateful to the friends of eound politicah 
principles, who have enabled us in a few months, to establish on a paying basis, a first class New. 
York Weeklij Paper. We have every where met with cordial co-operation, and Clubs of subscribers, 
from all parts of the country, are being rapidly added to our list. 

The friends of the New York Weekly Akgus may boldly challenge comparison of it with any 
other New York Weekly — both as to typographical appearance and the contents of its pages. Thej' 
already insist, and we intend to make good their claim, that it is the I 

_ pSiJS! Ml! IS! ilEY IIWIFIi If if Yil 

)natobr or expense will be spared to make a paper of which Democrats and Conservativa moni 
■)e proud. The responsible Editors are 

•9ALVERT COMSTOCK, WILLIAM CASSIDY k ELON COMSTOCK, 

With ample additional and special assistance in the several departments of the paper. 

To sustain such a paper and enable it to influence the political sentiment of the Nation, an ampl©9 
subscription list is necessary. Ours has already, in nine months, reached Tllil'ty TllOUSaild, , 

and wo appeal to those, whose opinions the paper represents, to give it 

One Hundred Thousand Subscribers, 

During the present year. This can be easily done by a general effort — as the paper is afforded to' 
Clubs at the low price of One IDolIar a Yearl Shall it be done? We leave the answer to f 
those who wish the success of such a paper. 

"3? DE3 :E^ -ml J@a 
Sing:le Subscriptions per atinicna ... $o oo 

Three Copies one year - - ... 5 OO 

Eigflit do do ----- 10 ©O 

Additional Copies ^1.20 each. 

Twenty Copies, to one address, - - - - 20 OO 

With an extra copy to the person sending the Club of twenty. 

To any person sending a Club of 100 we will send the Albany Daily Atlas & Argus one year gratis. 

Fayahle always in advance. 

Letters, whether containing remittances or otherwise, should be addrersed to the imdersigned, 
COENER OF BROADWAY" AND PARK PLACE, (opposite City Hall Park,) NEW YORK. 

COMSTOCK & CASSIDY, 

Proprietors, 



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